


Dragă Mea

by hailmary_yramliah



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Million Dollar Baby, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boxer!Reader, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Trainer!Bucky Barnes, boxer, movie, trainer - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:48:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25283413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailmary_yramliah/pseuds/hailmary_yramliah
Summary: Summary: A poor young woman working as a waitress just to make ends meet finds her peace in boxing. When YN LN decides to take it a step further and train professionally she’ll do it with the guy who can make it happen, that is James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes. The only problem? He doesn’t train females.Just how can she change his mind and prove to him that she’s worth so much more than a pretty face?Updates Wednesday! Stay tuned!
Relationships: Hope Van Dyne/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes & Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Brock Rumlow, Natasha Romanov (Marvel) & Reader, Steve Rogers & Reader, Wanda Maximoff/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	1. Motivation

Taking orders. Waiting tables. Cleaning up. Grabbing their tips. Repeat.

It was always the same endless cycle for you from six in the morning to two in the afternoon but no matter how boring it was to have to serve customers, you could never find yourself to dwell on the thought when something better awaited for you after your shift.

_ Boxing _ .

It was highly uncommon for some people—much less females—to go into that type of occupation or do it out of fun. However, you weren’t some people.

Cleaning up the last of your table, you smiled at seeing a grand tip of ten dollars left by one of your regulars. You easily pocketed the money in your apron and clocked out before returning to your apartment where you changed into your training outfit and gathered what little you had of boxing gear.

You had been a fighter in the ring for a short while and though you weren’t so bad, you still found room for improvement to become better so finding a trainer was on your list of what to do. And you knew the right people to go to, them being Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers. 

Bucky was an ex-soldier and with the money given to him after he served in the war, he was able to fund himself a nice boxing place which he ran alongside his childhood best friend, Steve Rogers. While he wasn’t the one fighting, he was always inspired to train others since it was what his father did. On the other hand, Steve was a retired fighter after breaking his hip many years ago. Both men had their way in and out of the ring so going to them for help was the key to your success.

As you took a ten minute bus ride to their boxing location, you walked through the entrance door to be greeted with a familiar scent of sweat along with the sight of a run down interior: white painted brick walls were peeling, some of the punching equipment was run down, and even the boxing rings looked like they took one hell of a beating from those who used it frequently.

“Woo! Who’s the pretty lady?” A young male cat-called as you scanned the area surrounding you. About five or so guys had been training but the one that had your attention from the beginning was Bucky’s and luckily you found him at one of the rings with his trainee, Sam ‘Falcon’ Wilson.

“Brock. Quit messing around and punch the goddamn bag.” Steve grumbled as he smacked the guys head. However you didn’t notice Brock’s pouting as your eyes continued to lock onto Bucky (or moreso his back). Eventually you even found yourself being led towards him in a somewhat trance.

“Miss? Miss!” Not paying attention to Steve calling after you, you continued on your path straight towards Bucky and his trainee, stopping only when you reached the sides of the ring.

“Mr. Barnes?” You called out, hoping he would see you. When he didn’t reply and only kept his eyes on Sam, you repeated his name once more.

A few seconds afterwards of Bucky not listening, Sam seemed confused and dropped his arms to his side, standing straight. “Hey Buck…” He tried to say in order to get his attention because clearly Bucky was willfully ignoring you.

“Keep punching.” Bucky grunted. He still didn’t give a glance towards your direction and remained in a stiff position with both of his padded hands beside his face.

Sam was hesitant. “But sir-”

“You want to win the championship right?” He suddenly snapped. Immediately Sam shut up and began punching again while Steve came up beside you, placing his hands on your shoulder so he could turn you away and direct you elsewhere.

“Hey miss, Bucky’s in training right now so you could talk to him about date night later-”

Cutting Steve off with a look of confusion, you shake your head and break away from his hold, stepping aside. “Date night? God no, I just came to train.”

The face that Steve and many other trainees nearby made after hearing you was out of pure shock. Though Steve was quick to overcome it with a huge smile on his face. “Train? Oh okay then.” He nodded approvingly and led you to an open punching bag where you began taping your hands and wrist to make sure they were protected. “You’ve boxed before, sweetheart?” Steve then asked, making you nod happily at the fact that you weren’t being judged by him unlike the rest. The tension you felt from all their eyes staring at you only made your chest swell with pride.

“Yeah. Had just won a match last week. Tough fight but I socked her in the jaw.” You answered, finally putting on the gloves and getting into position. “By the way my name’s YN LN. You might’ve heard about me?”

Steve chuckled and bowed his head down with a soft shaking motion. “No. No I haven’t. But show me what you got, YN. I’m Steve by the way.” Of course you knew Steve Rogers. He was a welterweight champion known as ‘The Captain’ in his prime time before his fatal injury had suppressed him to become a trainer as well.

“Well then, a pleasure to meet you, Steve.” Now paying attention to your target, you began punching at the bag. It was… embarrassing to say the least—for Steve and everyone else who had been watching you. It was obvious enough that you had no experience by how you wouldn’t pivot your body to punch or even the way your punches weren’t following through with the impact of the bag itself.

“Woah woah, stop sweetheart before you break your wrists.” Steve sighed. You listened, standing straight to see what the problem was. You thought you were hitting it perfectly.

“I thought you said you boxed before!” You heard the same voice from earlier calling after you as they let out a loud laugh. You turned to see Brock while Steve told you to ignore him.

“Don’t mind Brock. He’s a bit of an asshole.” You didn’t want to ignore Brock. You wanted to give him a piece of your mind.

“Brock ain’t it? I’ve seen your fight once. How’s the floor? You like kissing it?” You ridicule, mentioning how he had a KO the time you attended his fight. Abruptly, howls of laughter erupted from everyone as Brock snarled at you and his friends to shut up. Then another trainee, Scott Lang, had made fun of Brock by literally fake making out with the floor.

“Oh! I’m Brock and I  _ love _ kissing the floor.” Scott teased as he dropped onto his stomach. Brock attempted to flip him off but failed to do so with the glove covering the obscenity. He only opted to go back to punching the bag even harder this time.

Steve turned back to you after calming himself and gave you another one of his prized smiles. “Well sweetheart, I already like you.” He then gave you some tips on how to punch better which you practiced and he critiqued.

After going at it for a few minutes, you paused which gave him time to speak. “Once you get that down, we can get you on a speed bag.” Not knowing what that was, you frowned a bit which Steve noticed. “You do know what that is, right?”

“Yeah…” You lied, going back to punching. Steve was convinced and left you to continue training the boxers. You kept punching at the bag for what seemed to be hours until dark settled in and you were exhausted. Once stepping away from the bag after you stopped it, you saw that it was only Steve inside the facility. You wondered how much time has since passed.

“Done already, YN?” He asked, reading through a comic book as you took a sip of water. He briefly looked up while you gave a thumbs up since you couldn’t verbally reply due to gulping down all the water.

Once your thirst was quenched, you then spoke up. “Yeah. Going to head home now. Though I wanted to ask you something.” Steve set down his comic so he could listen to your question and once you noticed that you had his attention, you continued. “I was wondering if I could get Bucky to train me? I’ve heard he’s the best in town after hearing what they had to say about Falcon and his fights.”

Steve sighed deeply in response and you couldn’t figure what that was about. “He’s a busy guy, YN. I can talk to him if you’d like.”

“Yes. Yes please.” You affirmed. Steve then proceeded to collect his belongings and give a good night before heading towards a room. “This is where you sleep?” You asked. Not out of disgust but instead, curiosity.

“Yep. It’s my home. Want to see?” He asked you. You walked over and peeked into the small room that had enough space to fit a cot and two small dressers. Other than that you had to admit that it was cozy for the average person like you.

“It’s very nice.”

Steve could tell you were being genuine about it. Suddenly an idea came into his head and he was surprised that he didn’t think of it sooner. “Wait YN, before you go I wanted to give you something.” He motioned for you to follow him out of his room and towards a dusty set of lockers nearby where he opened one in particular that had the speed bag. Grabbing it and handing it to you he told you that you could use it for next time.

“Oh thank you, Steve. I’ll borrow it until I can save up enough money to buy myself one.” He smiled and let you go on your way and thanking Steve once again, it was not only for letting you use the speed bag but being kind to you in general. You always knew you would face some backlash from people of the opposite gender but with him, he had been supportive of you from the beginning which gave you even more motivation to work out in the boxing world.

“It’s no problem, YN. I’ll see you soon.”

And with that, Steve shut the door behind you as you made your way home with the speed bag tucked in your arms and a huge glistening smile on your face that could’ve been mistaken for the stars and moon above.


	2. Train Me

_ One week later _

Bucky sat at his desk. He had been teaching himself to learn a new language, one he found to love after visiting Bucharest, Romania and ever since then he had wanted to learn everything about the country for when he decides to visit again. “Unde este toaleta?” [Where is the toilet?] Bucky recited aloud as he read through the Romanian pocket dictionary when Steve popped by into his office.

“Buck. You got a second?” Bucky grunted in reply, muttering something incoherent in Romanian that Steve was brave enough to ask about. “And what’s that supposed to mean in Italian?”

Bucky rolled his eyes at his friend before returning to his book, some strands of hair falling into his face. “Idiot, it's Romanian and I said for you to fuck off.” Steve smirked at him before realizing he had important business to bring up.

“So… you haven’t thought of training her yet?” Steve questioned for the seventh time in a row, obviously referring to you. It was by the fourth day that Bucky stopped listening and now that it’s the seventh, he wanted to keep it that way. Steve knew he wasn’t going to get an answer so he continued to try and change his mind. “Come on, Buck. She’s been working that poor punching bag to the ground like it’s some bad guy. She’s got to learn something new.”

“Then you teach her.”

Steve shook his head in disappointment. “You know I can’t Buck. Besides she said she wants you to train her.” Bucky groaned, wanting so badly for Steve to just leave him alone and as if on cue, Sam had entered in wanting to speak with Bucky.

“Buck? Could we talk?” Bucky motioned for him to come inside his office as Sam and Steve greeted one another. Then standing to the side, Steve remained in the room since he had every right to know what was going on.

Bucky was relieved to not talk to Steve anymore. He placed his dictionary down with eager news to tell his fighter from an earlier call on a fight he had set up. “It’s a good thing you’re here, Samuel. I actually wanted to tell you that I secured us a sixty-forty on the next fight-”

Sam interrupted him, taking a seat in front of his desk while nervously playing with the strings of his boxing glove that sat on his lap. “Actually, Buck… this is what I wanted to talk about. I’m going to the championship.” Bucky laughed, grinning at Sam’s spirit and high hopes that he’ll win a boxing belt in the future once he reached that point but Steve could tell something was off. He knew by the way his hip started to act funny. It was weird but it was a sign that he had begun to notice ever since he sustained the injury. However, he never spoke on it.

“Of course you’re going to the championship, Samuel. _ I’m _ going to take you there.” Bucky was still smiling, full of pride.

This was getting harder for Sam to let out the truth but he did it anyway like he’s ripping off a band-aid. “Actually… I’ve been talking with Tony Stark.” Sam let out stressfully.

_ Bombshell dropped _ .

Even Steve was in shock that he had spoken before Bucky could. “Tony Stark? The manager?” Sam looked over to Steve and nodded slowly.

“Yeah. That’s the one.”

It was now Bucky’s turn to talk who had a flood of emotions coursing through his body that he couldn’t quite let out for the fear that he might lash out. So instead he opted to try and downplay the situation which pained him a lot to do so. “But Tony? He’s just a manager and I’m your trainer. You need me.” He pointed out desperately.

Sam shrugged. “Yeah but Tony can secure better money which I’ll need for my wife and kids. Anyway you taught me everything I need to know, Barnes. And for that I’ll always be indebted to you.”

Now Bucky was getting pissed. His face grew hot as he stood up from his desk, hovering over random pieces of paper that littered the top of it. His fists even collided with the top, making both Steve and Sam to flinch at the noise. “Indebted to me? Damn right you are and you’ll pay it off when you win that belt for me-” His raised voice was stopped quickly by Steve.

“Okay that’s enough, Buck. Sam we’re done here. Thank you for training with us for the last five or so years and then wasting it on some scumbag.” Steve grumbled passive aggressively. Despite being upset about the new information, he still escorted Sam out safely for fear of what Bucky might do if he got his hands on the trainee. But as Sam left for good, what pained the two men the most was that he didn’t once look back as he left the boxing place he once called home.

-

Bucky was gripping at the ends of his hair angrily, swearing loudly in Romanian that Steve  _ didn’t _ have the guts to ask about.

“We lost him, Steve. We lost a fighter and a chance of winning ourselves a belt!” Bucky yelled angrily as Steve entered the office again. Steve sighed in exasperation, shaking his head in disagreement.

“Not me, Buck. You.”

If looks could kill, Bucky’s would’ve done so to Steve right there in the office. He was glaring at his friend with murderous eyes. “I was earning him as much money as I could.” He responded with gritted teeth.

“Yeah whatever you say, Buck. You’re just protecting him from the championship fight. You know, I bet they were talking for a while because Tony’s known for sweetening the pot the longer you keep refusing him.” Steve would know. He had been there before. “But I think you would know that. You’re the smart one. You’re the one learning Italian.”

“It’s Romanian!”

“Well you just protected yourself out of a championship fight! How do you say that in Romanian?” And given Steve’s had enough arguing, he left Bucky’s office.

-

_ The next day _

After Steve let you borrow the speed bag, you had been hitting at it slowly, trying to get a feel for how it should be but you could feel that it wasn’t right. If only you had  _ someone _ to teach you.

“Buck, come on. You’ve got no fighter now except her. Take that as an opportunity to teach her and show her potential.” Steve jabbed at the brunette’s rib. Bucky groaned, looking over to where you were stared up at the speeding bag like it was trying to tell you something.

“Fine. If it’ll make you leave me alone.” He replied sassily. He began to make his way towards you and since the boxing place was basically empty with only you, Steve, and himself present he was feeling less embarrassed to actually talk to you since no one around could question him about it.

“Hey boss!” You chimed, smiling at how it was him making his way to you instead of the other way around.

“Don’t call me that.” He growled in a low tone. “I don’t train you so don’t call me that.” You shrugged but didn’t plan on stopping.

“So why are you here boss?”

Bucky frowned at the nickname but didn’t bother to address it again. “Well besides the fact that I own this place, it’s because you punching the bag makes me want to gouge out my eyes.” You let out a laugh, not realizing that he wasn’t joking.

“Well then boss, are you going to train me?” You inquired.

“If you stop calling me boss then I might just give you a few pointers.”

“Sure thing, boss—I mean Mr. Barnes.” You corrected yourself.

“Bucky. You call me Bucky.” You let yourself repeat his name, the word rolling off your tongue smoothly. It’s been a while since a dame like yourself ever called him that and if he wasn’t so stubborn, he might’ve melted at how pretty it sounded. “But before I do teach you, I want to know your dedication to boxing. It takes just four years to even throw a good punch, did you even know that?”

You didn’t.

“And a pretty girl like yourself doesn’t usually do this kind of thing so I want to make sure that you’ll take this seriously. Like a professional.”

You nodded, not even acknowledging how Bucky admitted you’re pretty. “And a professional is what I’ll be.” Bucky almost wanted so badly for you to go against his words but instead, you’re doing the opposite. He found it to be slightly annoying until he listened to what you had to say. “I’ll do anything to learn, Bucky. I’ve been a waitress since I was just out of high school and I’ve got nothing else in the world for me except boxing. My mother is living on her welfare checks and medicaid in my childhood trailer, my brother’s serving life in prison, and my father died of cancer about three years ago. It’s been my passion to do something I love because Lord knows my family didn’t get to have theirs.”

Struck by emotions and the heart to give you a chance, he finally gave in but with some rules to set. He wasn’t completely heartless.

“Okay. Okay. We’re going to establish some rules first then. Don’t ever call me boss. It-uh, makes me feel old.” You took a note of that. “And second? Don’t ask questions. Just do as you’re told.”

“No questions. Got it.”

“Now hit the bag.”

_ No questions. _ You hit the bag as you normally did. “So like this?”

“No. Stop.” Bucky huffed in annoyance, wanting to smack his forehead with the palm of his hand.

You did, looking back at him in confusion. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Yes. Twice. You asked a question followed by another. I said no questions.” Then without saying anything, took your place at punching the bag in consecutive slow motions. “Look. Pretend you're chipping ice with an ice pick. And also for the love of God you have to learn to move your feet. You stand still but as a boxer you should know how to shuffle.” You followed him, bending your knees a bit and getting into an athletic position, trying hard to study his demonstration.

“Now it’s not about hitting the bag hard. It’s how well you hit it. You see how my entire body is just getting into rhythm easily? Because the moves are simple.” He continued to explain what he meant. “I shifted to my right foot and hit it with my left fist and then chipped at it with the back of my hand. Then I shifted to my left foot and hit with my right fist and...”

“Chipped at it with the back of your hand.” You finished for him.

“Good girl.” He complimented. You couldn’t lie, the nickname caused your cheeks to heat up as Bucky let you take over. You tried it for yourself, letting you build a rhythm which you would soon pick up on and be able to move faster with it.

Soon enough, with more practice and working out, you’ll not only be fit, but able to fight in some of the tournaments. 

That is if Bucky will let you.


	3. Family Matter

_ Two months later _

“She’s getting pretty good.” Steve whispered to Bucky as the two watched from the office. You had been punching the speed bag like crazy, hitting perfectly in such well-timed combos.

“Yeah, real fast. It's almost as if someone's been helping her.” Bucky joked around, making Steve join in.

“Or maybe she’s just a natural. Looks like she’s got some real potential there, right?”

Bucky rolled his eyes playfully. “She’s got my speed bag is what she’s got. Can’t believe I didn’t realize until a week later. Haven’t seen that piece of crap in twenty years.”

“Mhm…” The blond hummed, suddenly crossing his arms over his chest. “I wonder just how she got that.”

Needless to say, Bucky knew who the culprit was but replied anyway. “I wonder too.”

-

Over the course of a month you gained muscle from working out and a closer relationship with Bucky Barnes. It was purely platonic but for Steve, he wanted more. He could tell that from the beginning, there was a spark that ignited between the two of you except Bucky was too stubborn to see it. But who could blame him? He was divorced and never found it in himself to pursue a relationship for he was afraid of getting his heart broken.

Just as you were finishing up your last ten count of jump ropes, you were taken aback to hear a female voice for afar. You didn’t recognize her but apparently Bucky does.

“James. Hey, Becca’s been asking for you all week.” Trying to play it subtle, you quickly walked over to the bench to sit and drink some water while facing them. Your earbuds which you frequented for workouts to hype you up was since off so you could  _ look _ like you’re not eavesdropping into their conversation.

_ He’s married? Of course he’s married _ . You cursed to yourself. The fact that you didn’t find out sooner made you upset but for what reason? It wasn’t like you  _ loved _ your trainer. No. That’s silly. You’re just more upset at the fact that since he’s your friend, he would at least open up to you that he has a super  _ gorgeous _ wife and an  _ adorable _ daughter too.

Keep telling yourself that.

Continuing to watch in silence, you saw how happy Bucky seemed to be with his family. You wondered why they didn’t come around often.

“So I’ll come over for dinner tonight. How’s that sound, Princess?” Bucky laughed as he twirled Becca around. She was giggling, asking to be put down which he followed.

“Yes daddy! Mommy!” Your heart clenched in your chest at the interaction between husband and wife. You felt slightly jealous that their relationship was much better than your mother and father’s marriage. They never divorced but they did always fight when you were younger. Somehow you just longed to forget it ever happened after your father’s passing.

Not noticing anymore, you failed to witness Bucky and Dot talking about their schedule for who takes Becca. “I’ll be out of town since Hal is taking me on a vacation.”

“Hm… Hal Carter. You’re still with him?” Bucky grunted. Dot let out a huff of air as this was always the case with Bucky. She had an affair with him and ever since then, Bucky’s despised the farm-loving man.

“And you still hate him. Anyway I’m tired of talking about him so will you take care of Becca for the weekend?” Bucky agreed to care for his daughter. Once it was settled, both Dot and Becca left with goodbye’s as Bucky walked back towards you.

“Hey YN. Are you still working on the bag?” You didn’t reply as you usually did which set Bucky off. He questioned your actions but decided to leave you alone since he needed to study more Romanian.

Just as he turned on his heel did you call after him. “Bucky. Before you go though-” He spun to face you. “-don’t you think I’m ready for a fight?” He was thrown off by the question. You had never once broken the iceberg about fighting until now.

“We’ll see, YN. I can set up some matches under a flyweight division.” You firmly nodded before going back to hitting the bag. Bucky was picking up an odd vibe on you and for him, he didn’t like it one bit. He could sense your change, how you didn’t smile like you usually did and it was easily the most uncomfortable position he’s ever been in—and there have been many. “Well then, I’ll be in my office if you need me.” He mumbled, slowly making his way back, hoping that in the back of his mind you would call after him again. But when he realized you weren’t going to, he stuck with saying more ridiculous phrases in the Romanian language from his new book that he was reading.

“A scoate din pepeni.” [To take someone out of their watermelons = To drive somebody crazy.]

-

After devoting yourself to work and work only, there became a slight disconnect between you and Bucky. Instead of him ignoring you like it was in the beginning, you would ignore him unless what he had to say was deemed important.

Which Steve observed for a little while. He had to. His hip was hurting.

“Steve, she won’t even talk to me. I don’t even know what I did wrong.” Bucky whined, having failed to get a word out of you except a nod or your lips pursed into a thin-lipped smile.

“I can go talk to her if you’d like.” He offered, making Bucky agree quickly. He wanted to get to the bottom of this and why you were ignoring him. It felt wrong, very wrong.

“You go do that and I’ll start calling Thor Odinson about a match.” Bucky quickly went over to his desk and dialed into the phone while staring out to watch Steve approach you.

“YN. Sweetheart can we talk for a moment?” Steve asked. You couldn’t exactly hear due to the earbuds but Steve was cautious enough to get your attention by standing in front of you.

So once you saw him, you stopped. “Steve?” You asked, pulling out an earbud.

“Let’s talk for a moment. Just wanted to check-in with you.” As much as you were in no mood to talk, you obliged and left your station to sit with him. As you both settled down, he asked you how you were doing.

“Been doing good for a fighter, Steve. I just want to start going into fights.” Steve let out a small laugh.

“Bucky likes to say that boxing is an unnatural act, that everything in boxing is backwards: sometimes the best way to deliver a punch is to step back... But step back too far and you aren’t fighting at all.”

You thought that was clever and true. “Yeah and anything’s a punching bag if you try hard enough. You got any more words of wisdom?” You inquired with a joke of your own.

“Plenty.” He answered. “Boxing is about respect. Getting it for yourself, and taking it away from the other guy.” You liked that. You wanted that respect.

“But anyway, I wanted to talk about Bucky. You and him seem a bit… what’s the word? Distant.” Whipping your head to look at him, you wondered how Steve was so good at reading people and knowing there’s something wrong. “So what’s the matter?”

You really weren’t in the mood to talk about your trainer for you weren’t sure of what to say. What if it went like  _ Oh. I’m distant because I saw Bucky had a family and I needed to respect his boundaries. _ That’ll sound like you like him rather than it being respectful (and you liking him  _ isn’t _ the case) and with Steve, he’ll interpret it in more ways than you could count on your hands.

“ I-uh j-just wanted to keep f-focus on my work, Steve. That’s all it is.” You stuttered. You didn’t like how your brain worked so smoothly inside your head but once you have to say it out loud, it comes out a jumbling mess.

“You sure? Sounded like you were nervous to admit something as simple as that.” Now Steve was just interrogating you. “Come on YN. Talk to me like we’re best friends. Tell me what’s going on-”

“You want to know what’s going on?” You snapped, not meaning to get so riled up by a pointless conversation. “Fine. It’s because I’ve been working my ass off for almost three months and I just want to start fighting.” You lied. If only you could admit to Steve what you really wanted to know.

Just then, you saw that Bucky was heading towards you both with a wide smile on his face. It wasn’t forced and if you weren’t so mad, you would’ve thought he looked cute.

“Good news YN. I got you into your first fight.” Jumping up from your seat you let out a gasp at his words with the angry feeling dissipating from your body. You were totally unprepared at the fact that this was really happening and that soon enough your dreams to become one of the greatest female fighters of all time was just around the corner.

“That’s great!” You gleamed with excitement that caused both Steve and Bucky to smile as you did. Just as you were about to hug them both, you composed yourself to not do so. Opting for a fist bump instead, they both did so at the boxing gloves you wore.

“Your opponent is Hope Van Dyne. They call her ‘The Wasp’ for her repetitive stinging punches so you got to work on blocks and how to strike.” You kept that in mind as they both left you to practice.

“So did you talk to her?” Bucky whispered cautiously as they walked away from the noise of you punching the speed bag material. Steve whispered back, telling him what you told him.

“Yet, I think she’s lying though but who knows.” He shrugged. “But what makes you so concerned? She’s working hard and isn’t that what you wanted?”

“I don’t know. It’s weird.” The brunette admitted, plopping onto his desk chair without another word. He put up his hair into a man bun out of stress but Steve smirked as he leaned against the edge of his desk beside him, looking down on his figure with arms folded.

“Seems to me that you care for her more than you think. Anyway I think she’ll be good for you, Buck. You’ve been divorced for over three years now so isn’t it time for you to find someone?” Bucky groaned. He didn’t want to hear Steve’s opinion about what he should do with his love life since his friend always found a way to bring up.

“Get out of my office.”


	4. KO

Back in Bucky’s home, he had been watching the championship fight with his ex-trainee Sam against Pietro ‘Quicksilver’ Maximoff. Becca was asleep on the couch beside him while he was paying close attention to what’s happening on the screen.

_ Boxing is an unnatural act. Everything in it is backwards _ . When Sam wanted to move to the left, he didn't step left, he pushed on the right toe. To move right, he used his left toe. Instead of running from the pain—like a sane person would do—he stepped into it, just as Bucky had taught him to do so for the last couple of years. It reflected on his performance and just as the twelfth and final round came in, Sam gave the punch he was best known for: the Falcon’s punch that gave any fighter a KO if he performed it right.

“Here it comes… Sam ‘Falcon’ Wilson winds his arm up to deliver the punch we’ve all been waiting for. He goes for the kill and  _ bam! _ knocks Pietro ‘Quicksilver’ Maximoff on the head where he’s knocked off his feet. The referee is calling for a ten second count while he still lays in the ring, trying hard to get up—and it’s a knockout! The new World Boxing Association male champion is now Sam ‘Falcon’ Wilson!” The announcer declared as the crowd roared over him. Bucky softly clapped his hands, proud to hear that Sam won the title as he always dreamed of doing. Suddenly he felt Becca stir beside him, making him coo at her to stay asleep.

“I’ll take you into bed, Becca. Let me just turn this off.” He turned back to see the crowds cheering for their new winner as Sam was presented with his belt. Sam’s name popped up with all of his fight records in a white font along with the mention of his new manager at the bottom. He was slightly jealous to see it was Tony’s name and not his and quickly shut the TV off to scoop Becca in his arms.

“Goodnight, Daddy. I love you.” The little girl whispered as Bucky’s heart swelled from her voice. He kissed her forehead and brought her inside the guest room where she drifted off the sleep as soon as she hit the pillow and covers.

“I love you too, Princess. Sleep tight.” And with that, left her alone to sleep for the rest of the night.

-

“You’ve seen the fight?” Bucky asked Steve the next morning. Becca had been picked up early by Dot and Hal since for some reason, they changed their mind and wanted  _ his _ daughter to go on vacation with them.

“Yeah. Could’ve been your belt if you haven’t given him up so easily.” Steve countered. Bucky flipped him off and mentioned that there was more important business to deal with than just talking about Sam.

“YN’s fight is tonight and I get to see her in action.” He replied, feeling a slight sense of pride swell in his chest. He had come around to realize that training a girl wasn’t as bad as he thought. In fact, he liked it because you were very persistent and passionate about the sport, just as you had been very vocal about.

“Thor’s been known for putting up good fights. You better put faith in her to show her that she can win.” Bucky made a ‘pfft’ sound, brushing it off that you didn’t need encouragement.

“YN’s got all the training she needs. She’ll know how to utilize it even when I’m not there. I’ll just be going for support.”

“Whatever you say, Buck. Whatever you say.”

-

To say you were surprised was an understatement. You couldn’t believe that before your eyes, at a booth, you were asked to serve Bucky as his attention was on the menu. “Oh YN. Hey.” He said politely once looking up at you. “Are you ready for the fight later on?”

You nodded, dumbfounded but grabbed your pen and paper so you could take his order. “Of course I am, Bucky. So what would you like to order?”

“Been reading through your desserts. These pies are made homemade or with the filling crap?” He asked, eyeing at the description of the apple pie.

“Homemade. I prefer our apple pie with a scoop of vanilla and caramel sauce. It’s one of our specialties.” Bucky agreed to get one and you took his menu before walking away. He looked around the small diner, wondering if you liked your job.

Then after a few minutes of pondering some more random thoughts you came back with his pie on a plate. “Here you go, Bucky. Anything else I can get for you?” He shook his head softly and dug into the food while you stood in the same place. You didn’t know why you hadn’t moved but seeing Bucky’s face light up at the first bite made you proud to learn he enjoyed it.

“This is really good. If you’re not actually busy, care to join me?” Looking around the diner, you saw that it was slow hours so you saw why not. You sat across from him on the other bench, silently watching him continue to eat until he broke the silence you’ve been wanting to escape. “You like working here? Doing this to save up your money right?” Bucky asked curiously. You replied that you did, saving up your earnings and tips so you could buy yourself a nice house.

“Been wanting to live somewhere nice and get a dog.” Bucky chuckled in reply.

“Attagirl. You’ll be earning more if you can win these fights.” You bit at your lip, toying at the skin as you couldn’t help but be bothered by the loose strands of hair that fell from his hair tie. Without thinking, you reached forward to scoop them behind his ear, making him look at you. “Th-thanks.” He spoke, thrown off but grateful for your actions.

You held in your breath, wondering why you did such a thing. “I should go. I’m not on the clock to just sit around.” You replied, already leaving the bench rapidly before Bucky could say anything. Bucky allowed you to leave, cursing lightly to himself for such an awkward moment. How did it become like this?

He spent just a few more minutes eating the pie until he finished everything on the plate. He was hoping to say a brief goodbye and thank you but realized you were nowhere to be seen, probably hiding out in the kitchen. He sighed but left a tip for you. It was the least he could do. Besides, he’ll just see you later. It’s not like you could avoid him forever.

-

Around seven o’clock was the match. You had entered the ring with just a crowd of a few following after Hope Van Dyne, who they had been cheering on. Bucky was at your corner, guiding you on what to do before the referee asked you both to stand in the middle.

“Okay. Fight!” The bell dinged and you and Hope circled one another, stepping in and stepping out. It was whoever made the first punch that you had to start planning your moves and attacks.

Hope striked first. She tried to punch you, successfully doing so at your left arm. You went in to punch at her side, then her face.

“Keep your left arm up.” Bucky whispered as if you would hear, watching Hope use that to her advantage. You both kept hitting and blocking one another, trying to get the other to fall onto the canvas below but it was a bit difficult to do so.

_ Ding! Ding! Ding! _

It was the end of round one and the referee directed you both to your corners. Bucky placed a stool for you to sit while assessing your face and giving you water from the squeeze bottle.

“I can’t seem to hit her, Buck. But she’s really hitting me.” You pointed out, your left bicep stinging like a wasp as she was known for.

“That’s because you have to keep your left arm up. You keep dropping it. You know why she’s so good? It’s because she’s got the higher up on you. She’s agile, she’s strong, she has experience. We’re going to have to keep working on that.”

You felt your body on fire as you got riled up with his words. Mixed with the adrenaline coursing through your veins, you jumped up when the referee called you both back for the second round.

_ Ding! _

Side-stepping and working on your foot movement, you dodged Hope’s quick punches before finding when she had her guard down to strike. It was when you redirected her punch with a parry that her face was a good place to hit. You followed through, going in with all your strength that she had fallen sideways, getting knocked out by the forceful punch aimed at her jaw.

Gasps filled the audience as the referee kneeled down to give a count. With Hope struggling to get up by grabbing onto the rope, the referee called out that the match was over and you were declared the winner. Bucky laughed out of shock and clapped, not believing that you had just won that quickly.

“Dragă mea you did it!” He exclaimed. You slid out from the ring to meet with him on the spectator’s floor and with how happy you were to win your first ever fight, you jumped into his arms to hug him tightly. Bucky didn’t even care at this point. He hugged back just as tight.

“Oh! I didn’t mean to.” You suddenly apologized profusely as Bucky settled you back onto the ground. He waved it away, saying he wasn’t fazed by it and wanted you to celebrate however you wanted.

“You’re happy. I get that. It’s fine YN.” He attempted to laugh but you were slightly puzzled since you were sure he had a wife.

“Won’t you wife be mad?” You abruptly brought up. Bucky’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head vigorously.

“Wife? I don’t have one, YN.” Now you were even more puzzled because you swore that he had one from that one time she visited his boxing location. “Where’d you get that idea?” 

You bit the inside of your cheek before you revealed the information in a hushed whisper. “It’s because I saw you with that pretty blonde and the little girl.” Surprisingly Bucky heard you and began laughing out loud which you frowned upon.

He clarified himself to you after calming down. “YN! That’s my ex-wife and our daughter. We divorced three years ago after she cheated on me.” Now it made sense. He didn’t have a ring on his finger anyways and you always thought it was because it interfered with hitting the boxing equipment. You felt stupid now that you had avoided Bucky for something that didn’t exist. Yet he was happy to clear the confusion. “Okay. Let’s go YN. We’ll celebrate your win on me.” You followed after Bucky out of the stadium feeling even more happy that Bucky’s single. You were really starting to fall hard for your trainer.


	5. Territory

Within less than a year of boxing professionally and training in Bucky’s hands, you had risen up the boxing divisions to begin fighting as a lightweight. You had grown popular for your fights, always winning by knocking out your opponents in the first round.

It was great except for the fact that Bucky had difficulty setting up fights since no one wanted to lose a match against you. He had to  _ pay _ other managers in order to set them up. Until today…

He was given an offer for you to fight Pietro ‘Quicksilver’ Maximoff’s sister who was known to be one of the greatest fighters in her division. Her name was Wanda Maximoff. “And she goes by the name ‘Scarlet Witch’ because of some crazy wild moves that only she can pull off that’ll leave her opponents bleeding scarlet red.” Bucky informed you. Steve handed you his phone to watch a video of her fighting and for sure, she had some pretty good power in her punches that’ll leave her opponents bleeding if they don’t treat it.

“Sometimes the physicians on site have to call off the matches just so that she doesn’t kill them.” Steve added on in a serious tone. Once the video ended, shivers ran down your spine at the thought of you dying at the ring.

“So you want me to fight her?” You asked Bucky, almost anxious from your tone. Him and Steve exchanged a look before he gave a firm nod.

“Up to you, doll.” You playfully pushed Bucky at his pet name for you while Steve cleared his throat.

“Lovebirds. Just kiss already.” He sighed before leaving you two alone in Bucky’s office. You let out a snicker at Steve’s annoyance but looked up to see Bucky was staring deeply into your eyes.

He shook himself out of his trance, pretending he wasn’t just thinking of his friend’s suggestion or the way your lips would feel on his (as he did so for a while now but he won’t admit it). It would be unprofessional of him to act on his feelings even though it’s been months that he denied it.

“You're thinking about it, aren’t you?” You asked teasingly. He shook his head, trying his best to deny it in a blubbering mess but you knew he had feelings for you just as you had feelings for him too. Wanting him to shut up in the best way you could think of, you leaned forward and attached your lips on his, passionately indulging the soft skin.

Bucky was so lost but acted on the kiss by pulling you into his chest. He placed one hand on your cheek as your own dainty fingers weaved through the locks of his long hair. After pulling away to catch your breath, you looked away with a huge smile appearing on your face.

“What was that about?” He let out breathlessly, teeth gleaming through his smile that you couldn’t quite see.

“Just my way of saying that I like you.” You replied, looking far off into the corner as if there was something interesting.

“Eight months.” You heard behind you. You and Bucky jumped to see that it was Steve leaning against the door frame. “It took you both eight months to finally admit you have feelings for one another when it could’ve taken one.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and reached down on his desk to grab the nearest item—a pack of gum—which he chucked at the cheeky blond. It whizzed past his ear making Steve frown as he bent down to retrieve it. “Hey… I’m just clearly pointing out the truth that the two of you were blind to see.”

“Bye Steve.” You waved, already leaning into Bucky’s body as he reciprocated by wrapping a protective arm around your waist. Steve made a fake face of disgust before shooting a thumbs up in your direction.

“By the way, you’re not getting this back.” He told Bucky, showing the gum.

“Keep it for yourself, punk.”

-

Tonight was the fight.

The stadium was much bigger than before with thousands of people who were eager to see your fight in action against the infamous ‘Scarlet Witch.’ Just before you were in the ring, you had been with Bucky who was giving you a quick word of encouragement.

“Oh! And before I forget. I have something to give you.” Bucky handed you a bag that you rifled through to take out the item. It was an all red with grey borders silky robe that boxers wore all the time before their fights.

“Oh my God.” You gasped. “It’s beautiful!” You hopped off the athletic table to wear it as Bucky helped you get it on. On the back it read ‘Dragă mea’ as Bucky had always been calling you but you never really knew what it meant.

“Now you look like a real fighter, YN.” He laughed.

Your moment was then interrupted by the referee. “Time’s up. Let’s go.” You and Bucky shared a kiss before you went on your way to enter the ring. Chanting filled the stadium and they had read your name from the cloth.

“You saw it? It’s Dragă mea?” One spectator asked another. They nodded and began chanting it with other people joining in as you hopped inside the ring where you were met Wanda face-to-face.

The referee began reading through the rules and before you knew it, the fight began as you both circled one another like wolves fighting for their territory. Wanda was fast, faster than most of the other opponents you went against. She hit a lot harder too which you immediately found out as she jabbed into your side.

“Come on YN.” Bucky grumbled under his breath as he watched you try and sock Wanda. It was proven difficult with how well Wanda was adjusting to your strikes. But before the round could end, Wanda hit your face, causing your nose to break in the process.

“Go to the neutral corner!” The referee told Wanda after the punch. She followed, panting heavily.

_ Ding! Ding! Ding! _

End of the first round. You met at your corner, spitting out your mouth gauze as Bucky replaced it with ice cold water for you to spit out.

“My-my nose, Bucky.” You whined, sounding nasally. One of the ringside physicians hopped inside to assess you.

“Is she okay?” He asked Bucky. Bucky nodded, prompting him to go away.

“What-what happened?” You asked. Bucky explained how your nose broke and that you could be declared to lose a match if you bled a lot. You shook your head vehemently, not wanting that to happen. “Buck do something!”

He was quick to action on repositioning your nose. “Bite down on this.” He commanded, making your teeth clench tightly on the towel. As he fixed your nose, he scooped some petroleum jelly to put inside the nostril. “Okay YN. You have just twenty seconds to knock Wanda out. Your nose will be like a waterfall. Twenty seconds.”

The one minute rest period ended and the referee made you continue your fight. The crowd was standing on their feet now to see how this round would continue. With the bell signalling it was time, you quickly dodged and threw punches that hit Wanda where she least expected it.

_ Twenty seconds _ . Bucky’s words repeated in your head as your heart pounded like an African drum. With enough momentum in your body and a clear shot of where to target, you went for a daring uppercut that flung Wanda backwards onto the canvas. The referee did a ten count, waiting if Wanda even had the guts to recover from such a powerful move. Unfortunately for her she couldn’t get up and there you stood in the middle of the ring as the proclaimed winner.

“Dragă mea! Dragă mea!” You heard the spectators chanting loud and proud. You lifted your gloves up to hear them all say it and locked eyes with Bucky who was astonished at the feat you just pulled off.

You had made your mark by winning against one of the greatest female fighters in the lightweight category.

And it felt so damn good.

-

Bucky helped you from the ring, tending to your wounds and broken nose where he had the help of the physician. You were so overjoyed to have won against Wanda and to earn the hearts of your audience. They were rooting for you from the beginning and continued to root for you every time you had a fight.

“I’m so proud of you, doll.” Bucky congratulated you as he gave you a hug. You smiled at him, letting him see how adorable you looked even when your nose was broken and how you had small gashes on your face.

“I’ll be the greatest fighter of all time, Buck. I swear on my heart by it.”

“Yeah you will. I’ll bring you to the championship title, baby.” Immediately you kissed Bucky roughly, grabbing both of his cheeks in your hands. Since he had grown his beard during the duration of your time with him, it scratched your palms but you didn’t care.

“We’ll get there. Together.” You looked at him with hooded eyelids. You were feeling exhausted now, having no energy to move in your spot and remaining close to him to the point where your body leaned against his for support.

“Together.” He repeated after you.


	6. Winner Takes All

This fight was going to be the turning point of your career.

Bucky had just gotten off the phone with the manager that represented Natasha ‘Black Widow’ Romanoff and according to Steve, she was known for being an ex-Russian prostitute who did dirty fights under the noses of referees.

She was tough and bad. Something you’re not afraid to conquer but Natasha made an exception.  _ She _ was the best fighter out of the entire female WBA and somehow Bucky got you a fight against her.

“It’s a million dollar fight.” He said proudly to you and Steve as soon as the call ended. “We’ll fly out to Las Vegas in a couple of days and you can fight in the greatest arena in the world.” Bucky wasn’t wrong. Popular boxers from all over the world always held their championships in the MGM Grand Garden Arena that sat 17,000 people. It’s just that you couldn’t believe you were going to be one of them.

“That’s good to hear.” Steve added on, high-fiving you for being able to get this far. “You win that belt for us, okay?”

Confident, you answered back. “I will.”

-

Steve stayed behind to watch over the boxing place while you and Bucky had arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was just half an hour before the match started that you and Bucky had warmed up together while he also gave you extra tips and tricks after reviewing previous fight matches on Natasha.

You and Bucky were in a mock fight set-up where he held the pads and you punched at it, or when he would swing your arms and you had to duck.

“So are you nervous?” He asked you while you kept up your combos. You worked on your reaction time as Bucky pretended to be an opponent.

“A bit. More excited to fight though.” Since you were slightly out of breath, you didn’t want to talk much so Bucky dialed down the conversation. It was until you had five minutes left before the fight that a referee informed you of the time.

“Okay. That’s enough for now. Are you ready for this?” You established that you were with a prideful look on your face that exuded confidence. Thanking Bucky for everything, you kissed him one last time before the two of you had to make your entrance. You entered the arena with loud cheering for you and Natasha. The entire stadium was full of people from all over, getting a sold out show and seeing that many people were chanting for your nickname, you smirked before entering inside the ring.

You and Natasha stared one another down on the opposite corners of the ring while the announcer introduced you both to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen this is the featured presentation of the evening. In this red corner is the challenger YN LN and in the blue corner is the WBA welterweight champion of the world: Natasha ‘Black Widow’ Romanoff!”

You shrugged off your robe while instantaneously cracking your neck. Bucky had held you silk robe, tightly gripping the material in his hand in nervousness as everyone began to quiet down so you could hear the bell to start the fight. You and Natasha had given each other the formal boxer’s handshake by touching gloves. Just as it did ring, the two of you did as every other fighter does in the beginning: circle one another.

Bucky had to admit, he was terrified of what the fight had in store for you. You’ve never fought a dirty fighter before, nor trained to be a dirty fighter since it was forbidden to do so in the WBA.

Natasha had struck first with a swing of her arm in a hook, causing you to duck and throw a jab into her side. Then with a quick shift of your feet, you moved in front of her to punch her face, causing her to stumble backwards a bit.

People in the crowd were cheering aloud while Bucky and Steve back home were trying to anticipate what the next moves of your opponent will make. Luckily for Steve he didn’t feel his hip acting up which had to be taken as a good sign. It might be your chance of winning the tournament if you played your cards right.

Quickly moving around the outskirts of the ring, you were constantly directing your punches at Natasha’s face and head as she tried to strike back while judges watched intensely from their table and the commentator provided context on what was going on for viewers at home. 

It was until Natasha had put you in a clinch did she regain herself and throw you into the ropes. You used the momentum to spring off of it and duck while she tried to swing her arm.

Apparently the referee noticed and stopped Natasha from pushing forward, telling her that if she were to do it again, it’ll cost her a point. Once the fight resumed, Natasha came over to you, swinging and trying to land a hit as you did the same. Unfortunately you weren’t able to react in time as she elbowed you in the face, causing you to fall on the floor and get up again but in pain.

“Son of a bitch.” Bucky growled under his breath. Saved by the bell, you walked over to your corner with your eye swelling up and a bloody tear just above your eyebrow.

“She’s tough, Buck. Can’t get inside to hit her.” Bucky went to work to stop the bleeding. He used some q-tips and petroleum jelly to smear on the wound while a corner man placed a cold compress to your eye.

Bucky thought for a moment, he briefly looked over at the other corner where the referee was once again warning Natasha that if she pulled another dirty move like that, she’ll be disqualified. In a snap of a finger, an idea came to him. He whispered into your ear. “Play dirty. I want you to jab, right in the tits, until they turn blue and fall off. Strike at her ass. Do whatever you have to do to bring her guard down so you could deliver a sweet slice of KO.” You jerked your head from the cold compress so the corner man could remove it .

“You got it.” You held your boxing glove up for Bucky to fist bump.

“But you’re alright? How many eyes do you need to finish this fight.” He pointed out at your shut eye. Your eyesight in your right eye was completely gone, having swelled to that point from Natasha’s elbow.

“One’s enough.” You grunted before springing up as it was time for the second round.

Straight away you had Bucky’s words playing in your mind like a broken record. Whenever you had the opportunity to hit, you did at her chest before going to bruise her ass.

“Alright separate!” The referee intervened. You circled again and gave a feint. Your right arm had extended to meet Natasha face, not giving much of an impact before you socked her in the jaw with a right hook. Immediately Natasha slammed to the ground as Bucky muttered at the wondrous sight.

“Knockdown. But is it down for the count?” The referee had started a ten count while Natasha hung from the ropes, trying to get up. Everyone was on edge, counting with them until it was over.

And Natasha was still on the ground.

“It’s a knockout!” Those who rooted for you cheered heavily in your nickname, filling the stadium with ‘Dragă mea!’. Bucky had entered the ring, embracing you tightly as someone came to bring the official title belt.

“Our new WBA championship title goes to YN ‘Dragă mea’ LN!” The announcer said as you were handed the belt. You and Bucky’s arms were raised high above to showcase the large belt draped over your broad and sweaty shoulders. Even though it was a short match, everyone believed it was a great one to witness.

“You did it!” Bucky exclaimed. You let him have a chance with the belt, allowing him to hold and examine it as he never had one for himself before. He was proud and knew that his father would also be excited to learn about the news if he was still alive today.

It took almost twenty minutes for the stadium to clear and you and Bucky had been led out with fans screaming for your name in the distance. “YN! I forgot something back inside. Wait for me in the car, okay?” Bucky instructed you as he handed you his car key. You had the belt with you, slowly making your way towards the vehicle with adrenaline pumping in your veins since you still didn’t happen to come down from such a surreal moment.

Just as you were about to enter inside, you heard a mischievous voice from behind you. Turning to see who it was, a shady figure in a black hoodie stood in front of you.

“You shouldn’t have won.” And before you could even react, a sharp object pierced into your skin, particularly in your abdomen. You dropped to the ground with the belt beside you as the mystery person reached down to retrieve it.

You tried hard to fight the pain but it was unbearable as you remained laying on the ground. You tried calling for help but even you felt a lot of blood being pumped out of your body that it made it hard for you to focus from all the loss. Then you heard Bucky’s voice calling for you, running to your side frantically.

“YN? YN!” Panic washed over his face as he let your head rest on his thigh and tried to stop the bleeding from where it started. He scanned around, trying to figure out what happened. “YN what happened?”

“I-I’ve been stabbed.” You croaked out, groaning at the pain that came with the added pressure on your wound. Bucky desperately yelled for anyone nearby to call the police and fortunately one was quick to do so. “B-Bucky…” You whispered.

“Shhh… save your energy. Stay awake for me okay, baby? Please stay with me Dragă mea.” You couldn’t help it but let your eyelids drift close as Bucky shook you. “Come on YN. Stay with me. The medics are on their way.”

“Bucky…” You repeated again. He waited to hear what you had to say. “They-they took the belt.” You whined.

“YN. Forget the fucking belt. That doesn’t matter at all. What matters is your life at stake.” He scolded. Bucky kept waiting for the medic to come, being assured by the bystander that they were just a couple of minutes away.

In the meantime he had brushed away your hair, tears now falling from his face and yours as reality was sinking in. You could die.

Back at home, Steve felt his hip starting to act funny. He wasn’t sure why as you had won the championship but the pain was immense which meant that something  _ really _ bad must have happened after.

Quickly grabbing his phone he dialed Bucky but it went straight to voicemail.

_ This is not fucking good _ . He cursed to himself.


	7. Risk

Hours after your admission to the hospital, you woke up with a start before groaning at a pain in your lower stomach area.

Bucky had been sitting beside you before standing quickly to push you back against the gurney. “YN! It’s me. Lay down, you’re resting.” He directed as he stroked your hair softly and calmly.

You questioned why you were in the hospital before bits of the memory made its way back to you. You were there because you had been stabbed by someone who also stole your championship belt.

“You scared the living shit out of me, YN.” Bucky nearly cried out. “I couldn’t afford losing you or else I wouldn’t know how to deal with myself.” He added on, hiding his face in his hands with shame. You pitied Bucky, reaching to grab his hand in yours as you did your best to reassure him that you were okay.

“Bucky I’m here. I’ll always be here. You’ll never leave me right?”

“Never.”

“Then I’ll never leave you either.” You replied lightly. “I’ve got nobody but you, Buck.” You admitted for the first time in a long time. No one in your family had your back anymore since you weren’t on speaking terms with them. Bucky had since updated Steve on the situation and Steve felt guilty for not speaking up about it sooner. He felt that he was in the wrong for not sending a warning due to a ‘hip’ instinct he had just around the time you got stabbed.

As you both continued to keep one another company, you eventually got around to asking a question you’ve been wanting to ask for many months.

“Buck… what does Dragă mea even mean?” Bucky looked up into your eyes and he swore he saw them glimmer against the bright hospital lights despite your injury where he expected you to still be in pain. He scratched at the back of his neck before clearing his throat.

“It’s Romanian. For… darling.” He let out nervously. It was loud enough for you to hear and just as he thought you might think it was a weird name to be called, he looked away only for you to squeeze his hand in yours.

“It’s beautiful. Especially when you say it.” He looked back at you to see that you looked at him with real love in your eyes. Bucky’s heart felt like it would burst open in his chest from how overjoyed he was. He used to be happy with Dot but after their divorce, he had shut himself out from the dating world… that is until now. Until you had come around and showed him what he was missing.

“Will you go out with me?” He said abruptly before adding on. “Of course… after you’re discharged from here.” He chuckled as you did the same.

You agreed to it and leaned forward to capture Bucky’s lips on yours. “I would love to go on a date with you, Bucky.” You spoke against his lips after pulling away gently.

Bucky proceeded to kiss you again after whispering how much he loved you in Romanian, allowing you to run your fingers through his soft brunette hair. You found it hot that your trainer can speak a different language so nicely.

Maybe Bucky did have to thank Steve for making him train you. If it wasn’t for the blond always pestering him about you, he wouldn’t come to realize how much of importance you would mean to him.

And also, you had done a good job proving your strength and persistence to him which he accredited you for. Not only did it break down his mental barrier to not train girls, but it opened his eyes to endless possibilities of what he could have been doing before. He could’ve won so much more championship titles if he worked with someone like you because all it was for you was a shot that you’re willing to take.

It was because of Bucky that you fought and won the championship of the world. He did that. People die everyday mopping floors, washing dishes and you know what their last thought is? ‘I never got my shot.’ Because of Bucky, you got your shot.

Bucky got his shot too. If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t have found someone to love. Because of you, Bucky finally had someone that cared about him.

And you both wouldn’t change that for the world.

_ The End _


End file.
